CFPB settles with debt collectors/buyers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today it has filed a proposed stipulated final judgment and order to settle its lawsuit against Encore Capital Group, Inc., and its subsidiaries, Midland Funding, LLC; Midland Credit Management, Inc.; and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. The companies, which are headquartered in San Diego, California, together form the largest debt collector and debt buyer in the United States.

Encore and its subsidiaries are currently subject to a 2015 consent order with the Bureau based on the Bureau’s previous findings that they violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Bureau sued Encore and its subsidiaries on September 8 of this year, alleging that Encore and its subsidiaries violated the terms of this consent order and again violated the FDCPA and CFPA in their debt-collection practices.

If entered by the court, the stipulated final judgment and order will require Encore and its subsidiaries to pay $79,308.81 in redress to consumers and a $15 million civil money penalty. The settlement will also require Encore and its subsidiaries to make various material disclosures to consumers, refrain from the collection of time-barred debt absent certain disclosures to consumers, and abide by certain conduct provisions in the 2015 consent order for five more years.